Electric controlling and signaling system for railways.



H. E. MoDONNBLL. ELECTRIC CONTROLLING AND SIGNALING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.

APPLIOATIOI FILED JAI. 26. I907.

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

2 SHEETS-11212! 1.

.1 fiuerzlolz' I H. E. M'cDON-NELL. ELECTRIC CONTROLLING AND 8IGNALING SYSTEM FOR BAILWAYS.

nruornol hum 1.20. 1901.

939,154. Patented Nov. 2,1909

3 SHEETS -SHEET 2.

wihuma HFLHSERT E. McDONhl'ELL. OI LEOIINSTB. MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC CONTROLLING AND SIGNALING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.

Specification of Letters, Patent Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

Original appuhition tiled August 7. 1906, Seriai No. 329,608. Divided and this application filed January 26.

1907. Serial No. 351,258.

To in! who." It may com-rm:

lie it known that I, lleunnn'r l). Mel onxnnn. :i riiizcn of the United States. residing at lAUllllll-iltl'. ill the county of Worcester and Stanol' .llzissni'lmsutts, have invented u'ltitill new and usefulimprovements in Electric ontrollin and Signaling Systems for Railways, of which the following is a s iccilication, referem-e being had therein to the accompany ing drawing.

My invention relates to electric controlling and signaling systems for railways and is divided out. of my copending application, Serial No. 329,606, tiled August 7, 1906.

The object of the invention is the im rovement of such systems and their a phcation in such fashion as to automatical y control safety devices upon trains or other vehicles.

Briefly stated. my invention comprises a. third rail which is disposed preferablv between the ordinar rails and insulated there- 7 from. together with a contact member carried by a switch tongue or actuated by any movement of the switch which completes a short circuit and operates controllin mechanism u n a car. Assuming the ve 'clcs to be fitte with air-brakes in accordance with standard practice, m invention contemplates at controlling va V0 for the usual train pipe or emcr ency pipe, and a valve or switch control mg the motive force, these valves or switches to be operated by an electromagnet or electromagnets in a circuit governed by the switch tongue.

In order to guard inat open switches, misplaced si means where y a switch tonf ue when open w l short circuit the signa tug conductor wit .the running rails or the power wire or ra l, thqeby completing the operating circart for the vehicle that. comes on to that block. The same eflect is produced when a signal is falsely thrown, wire connections bein preferably carried from the aig'naling con actor and one or both of the running rails onwngoes of power to contacta adjacent to th'qsignal its so that when the latter are c ierated t 2 contacts are closed together. has the signal cannot be falsely set without sto ing the vehicles. Various combinations 0 the two efiecta can be made.

It will bc apparentafter reading the followmg specification that my invention can be applied to electric 11w. a wall as to steam and other mode; a the nipply of nation to an electric tro ala and iho like, I provide?! current for workin v the signal und controlling devices nia be from a main central otlice or power louse as well as from bu:- teries or generators on the trainwor ears.

The changes required for this adaptation of the other closed, and a vehicle carrying safety devices and up )roaching the 0 en switch; Fig. 2 is a detail showing contro of a signal by the switch stand or signal lover;

and Fig. 3 shows the appllicatio'n of the in ey system.

In Fig. 1, 1 and 2 represent the ordinary track rails, 3 the wheels of a vehicle adapted to run thereon, and 4 an insulated third rail or intermediate conductor which referablg, runs along between the track rai 1 and A pair of spur or switch rails 21, 22, branch of from the main track and are controlled by a switch tongue 23 which is provided with a contact 24 adapted to engage the mtermodiate conductor 4 when the switch tongue is open. Anyi form of contact gr n may be used d I ave only shown it in Fig. 1 in a dignnunatic way. A brush 6 forms the other erminal of an operating circuit and is carried b the car so as to travel alo the intermediate conductor 4. ,'l 'he circuit utilized for operating the controlling magnet 19 is shown as including a pole changing switch, which is part of the complete circuit described in my oopendingqap;

plication, of which this is a diviaiom safety devices are shown as a train p pe. or amorgonc air pipe T controlled by a valve V thro a lever connection with the solenoidor so still.

The operation of the device will be eaail understood. Assuming that the switc tongue 28 has carelassl left open, and that the vehicle is approac tag in thc dtrcction of. the arrow, azhort circuit exists, as already atated, wh h 18 indicated in Fig. 1 by the contact 94 touching the conductor 4. This completes a circuit not only to the switch and the rail 22 behind it but to the connected rails forward as well as Conversely, the same closure w' be produced by the switch back from the switch. The conductor 4 is divided into insulated sections and as soon as the vehicle arrives in the section which is thus short circuited, a circuit will be comleted through the solenoid 19 as follows: attery .B, 14, 8,6, 13, 12,5, 4, 24, 23,-2 22, 1, a, 15, s 16, 17, 10, 1s, 19, and heel: to battery. 'I he electromagnet 19 thereu 11 becomes energized and asindicated in 1g. 1, its energization operates the valve V, releases the air in the train ipe, cuts oil the steam or other power, an sets the brakes. The vehicle thereupon stops, avoiding the open switch. There is a switch S in the enne cab by which the engineer can cut ofl t e operating current when it is necessary to use the 0 on switch. I

In Fig: 2 have shown a switch stand or operating mechanism 0, with a link or-connecting rod a secured at one end to the o crating crank 0', and passing thence to t e switch point. The operating lever o'an'd a coil tin contact 0' are connected tdthe 'ra' 2', an to the middle conductor 4, res ively, so that when ther'lever o is t 'wn to gr, the rai e switch points are actually 0 ut the signal-target a to dan- 2 and 4 am connected whether ornot. obviously 'mt'28 closing the contacts. 24', whether t e targetis set to or not.

- "In 1g. 3 I.ha've shown a'pair of rails' 1 and 2, and have indicatedin dotted lines a to. carry a trolley pole 25,

said switch car y sup the switch point 23 being ada ted whenh to connect the su emental trolley w th rail: 1---- just'a's conductor (in Fig. 1 1s smularly connected with the rails when theswitchint 28 is o The e'lectromagnet19 p0 is shown in this case connected on one side to the trolley wheel 5 andon the other side to the source of suppl thro theswitch Stheaameasinlfigf; In ad tion to con brake mechanism indicated at T, the electromagnet 19 in this case also controls the source of-current sup ly to the motor or motors M, tlus siaggmnatically indicated by. a switch 8. e conductor 4' is located as convenience and economy require, being preferably ca'rri same sup rtsorinthesameco may on the nit as the main troey wire 28;. The'insulatedaemintarposing suitable tions are produced by stram insulators at proper Intervals-as induiated at 21th am aware at various changes in matter of detail -may be made tration and description herewi is real and diagrammatic onl all practical 'etails .wluch are said motor and bra a lianceaon mllingthetrainpipe or. mg

and the recent in-eaplaining the in-' vention being omitted. All these details, however, are of necessity well known and will immediately occur to the skilled engineer or railroad man, and it should be clearly understood that l contemplate making use of them in practicing my invention, hence they are to e borne in mind in con struing the following claims.

Havmg thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a railway aling system, a pair of track-rails, an insu ated conductor divided into sections, a vehicle'traveling upon the track rails, a motor and braking appliances on said vehiclealz: electrom'a%iet an rakmg a ances, a mov able switch point in the rail, a-circuit closing device adapted to be directly actu: ated by said switch point, a source of cur rent connected to one side, as by groumh?,to the track rails,.and on the. othersi e ductor paralleling the rails to the controlling electro et, connections from the' sectional insulated conductor f to the circuit closing devi and thence to the track rails, and means ereby the controlling electromagnet on the vehicle when app switch, will be brought into connection with the section of theconductor adjacent to will have its switch, and if the latter is open circuit completed to the track ra' and will act to stop. the vehicle, mbstan y as de-f bQd, i ".100

scn e 2. In'a'railway- 'andgsatetyayala of switch t thH 3: circmt'closer directly pom point, an actuating device ,for the switch, a signal operated by said actuatthrough a feeder or supply con operated by roachingthe device, can lemon circuit closer 98 M PP .3"!

din .the actuation of and a vehicle traveling on said withmeanscarriedu ed to becontrolled bothrof said circuit closers, and to act directly-u the motor vehicle, to the switch is open, or the stopthesamei lacedorbohsuhstantiall ade- 8. In a railway signaling andaafety tem,apairoftrackrails,avehicletravel ia g thereon, a motor and braking appliances on said vehicle, a controlling therefor also on the vehicle, a source of so ply, a continuous srpply conductor extens: mg along the track anda supplcnentary conductor extending parallel therewith but divided into insulated sections, .a switch point in the track'rail and a circuit closer controlled thereby, with connections from said 'circuit closer to the adjacent track rail and the contiguous insulated section of the supplunentary conductor, the

1m auch thatwhen' the switch poinl is dia-' said vehicle a'dap't-fi its section on the su )plementary conductor and thence through t N switch-controlled circuit closer to the track rail and through the same or the return conductor to the source of supply, substantially as described.

4. In an electric railway signaling andsafety system, a pair of track rails. a continuous supply conductor, a sectional inst!- latcd supp ementary line conductor, a vehicle I another traveling conductor a apted to make running on the track rails, an electric motor and braking device on said vehicle, a traveling conductor thereon adapted to convey current from the supply conductor to the said motor and thence through the wheels to the track rails, an electronnrgnet controlling 1 the motor circuit and the braking means, a

branch circuit for said electroma nct extending from the said travelin conductor to another traveling conductor aditpted to make contact with thesectional supplementary line conductor, and a switch pomt in said track rails controlling in its movement a connection therefrom to the contiguous section of the supplementary conductor, substantially as described.

.3. In an electric railway signaling and afct vstcm. a pair of track rails, a continuou- .-uppl conductor, a sectional insulutcd supplementary line conductor, a vehicle running on the track rails an electric motor and braking device on said vehicle, a traveling conductor thereon ada )tcd to con- Vey current from the .su )ply conductor to the sttttl motor and thence t trough the wheels to the track rails, an electromagnet controlling the motor circuit and the braking means, a branch circuit for said electromu netextending from the said travelin con uctor to contact with the sectional supplementary line conductor, and means controlled in switching from the main track rails to a branch to establish a connection therefrom to the contiguous section of the supplementary line conductor and stop the a iproaching .ehic'te or vehicles, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HERBERT E. MCDONNELL.

Witnesses:

.' Imam W. SANGBTER,

Bnucn T. Gmmu. 

